1976 Japanese Grand Prix
24 October | officialname = Formula One World Championship in Japan | circuit = Fuji Speedway | location = Oyama, Shizuoka | circuittype = Permanent racing facility | lapdistance = 4.359 | laps = 70 | distance = 319.690 | pole = Mario Andretti | polenation = USA | poleteam = | poletime = 1:12.77 | fastestlap = 1:19.97 | fastestlapdriver = Jacques Laffite | fastestlapnation = FRA | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 70 | winner = Mario Andretti | winnernation = USA | winnerteam = | second = Patrick Depailler | secondteam = | secondnation = FRA | third = James Hunt | thirdteam = | thirdnation = GBR }} The 1976 Japanese Grand Prix, officially known as the Formula One World Championship in Japan (F1世界選手権・イン・ジャパン in Japanese), was the sixteenth and final round of the 1976 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Fuji Speedway on the 24 October 1976.A. H., 'The Japanese Grand Prix: A Lotus wins, but Hunt paddles to the Championship victory', motorsportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport, 01/12/1976), https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/december-1976/34/japanese-grand-prix, (Accessed 26/03/2018) The race, which was not officially called the "Japanese Grand Prix" due to an earlier Formula 2000 race, would see James Hunt and Niki Lauda complete their duel for the 1976 World Championship.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: JAPAN GP, 1976', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr280.html, (Accessed 26/03/2018) It was advantage Hunt after qualifying, although the Brit was beaten to pole by Mario Andretti in for a reinvigorated . Hunt's would start from second, with defending Champion and Championship leader Lauda in third, the Austrian knowing that he only needed to finish within three points of Hunt to take the title. Unfortunately Japan's F1 debut would be marred by near-torrential rain, which prompted much discussion as to whether the race should start at all. Ultimately, and in large part due to the efforts of Bernie Ecclestone to get worldwide live television coverage of the event, the race would be started late in the day, although streams of water and fog coated the circuit. It was Hunt who made the best getaway from the grid at the start, slithering ahead of John Watson and pole sitter Andretti on the run to the tight first corner. Lauda, in contrast, would slip into the middle of the pack at the start, and would continue to drop away from the leaders throughout the opening tour. Larry Perkins in the would be the first to call it a day, deciding to stop due to the conditions at the end of the opening lap. Lauda, shockingly, decided to do the same on the next lap, followed in by Carlos Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi, while Watson slid out of contention down an escape road. The Championship was seemingly over from that moment on, for Lauda was out while Hunt now had a small advantage over the fight for second. Indeed, Andretti and Vittorio Brambilla would duke it out in the heavy rain until lap 22, the position swapping between them numerous times, before the Italian spun himself out of contention while challenging Hunt. Andretti was then taken by Jochen Mass and Patrick Depailler, although Mass would soon go aquaplaning into the barriers on lap 36. After Mass' accident the rain finally stopped, allowing the Fuji circuit to slowly dry in patches. This was bad news for Hunt, who had taken a lot of life out of tyres already, and as the race came into its closing stages the Brit was in danger of losing the lead. Ultimately, with ten laps to go, both Depailler and Andretti would slither past the McLaren, although Hunt was well clear of the next pair, Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni. However, just two laps later it seemed as if the Championship was over for Hunt, the Brit following Depailler into the pits with a matching pair shredded tyres. Both Depailler and Hunt would rejoin behind Jones and Regazzoni, with the Brit needing to finish fourth or higher to win the Championship. It took until lap 70 for Depailler's to catch and pass the pair, leaving Hunt just two laps to do so. The McLaren duly went scything past the and on lap 71, although Hunt himself had no idea where he was in the context of the race. With that the race was run, Andretti cruising home a lap ahead of everyone to claim his first win since the 1971 South African Grand Prix. Depailler came home second a few seconds clear of Hunt, who only found out his position after climbing out of his cockpit in the pits, believing he had failed. Third, however, was enough for Hunt to clinch a maiden World Championship title by a single point, while Ferrari were officially recognised as the International Cup for Manufacturers' Champions. The race, along with several other key moments from the 1976 season, would be immortalised in the 2013 film Rush. Background With just one race to go the 1976 F1 Championship headed to new territory for the season finale, settling into the picturesque surroundings of the Fuji Speedway towards the end of October. Set in the shadow of the inactive Mt. Fuji, the Fuji Speedway had been in existence for around ten years, although the full length circuit, standing at just over six kilometres, had not been in use since 1972 after a fatal accident during a sportscar race. The F1 field would therefore tackle the 4.3 kilometre national circuit, based around a huge kilometre long start/finish straight, several sharp turns and one long, looping right hander. As ever, there would be some pre-race controversy between and , this time over a gentleman's agreement regarding testing. All teams had agreed not to test at the Fuji circuit ahead of the season finale, although, at the request of the organisers, Hunt had completed a speed restricted run in the rain a week before the race. Ferrari immediately protested, led by team manager Audetto, with the complaints continuing well into the race weekend, although no action could, or would, be taken. In terms of the teams themselves, McLaren and Hunt arrived knowing that the Brit stood a good chance of taking the title, momentum on his side. Both he and teammate Jochen Mass would use their old M23s, shipped over from North America, at the finale, while a single car was shipped as a spare. It was in that spare car that Hunt had conducted his test, done so to assess the freshly resurfaced circuit. Ferrari, meanwhile, would arrive with just the two entries and no testing, with Carlos Reutemann left in Europe to ensure that Lauda had access to a spare car. The Austrian would therefore have priority over soon-to-be ex-teammate Clay Regazzoni, whom had secured a drive with for , with both using the newest of the 312T2s. They both left the shouting to team boss Audetto regarding the Hunt/McLaren test, with Lauda only focusing on himself ahead of the finale. Elsewhere, arrived with their usual compliment of three six-wheeled P34s for Patrick Depailler and Jody Scheckter, the latter racing for them for the last time. The three cars were unchanged ahead of the finale, and would be supported by an ex-factory 007 run by Japanese privateer Kazuyoshi Hoshino. Running under the Heros Racing Corporation banner, Hoshino would be using Bridgestone tyres for the race, marking the Japanese rubber company's first F1 entry, rather than the Goodyears upon which the car had originally been developed. More native talent could be found at , where Brett Lunger had stepped aside to allow Noritake Takahara to get a drive in his home race. The Japanese racer had previously driven a Formula One car at the 1974 International Trophy meeting, but was making his full World Championship debut in Fuji. He would be partnered by Alan Jones, who was considering his future with the team after falling out with several key members of the crew. Also making their debut in the World Championship would be Masahiro Hasemi and the Kojima Engineering team, based next to the Fuji Speedway. Their car, named the KE007, was their first attempt at a F1 car, built by ex-Suzuki moto-cross rider Matsuhisa Kojima, and conformed to the now standardised engined "kit-car" template. The car therefore appeared with a mix of designs inspired by other Cosworth cars in the field, but with Dunlop rubber mounted on the wheels. The fourth and final Japanese entry should have come at RAM Racing, but the British squad ultimately decided to withdraw from the race having hired local talent Masami Kuwashima. The Japanese racer subsequently secured a drive at the team, partnering Arturo Merzario, although that was subject to a large cheque as Hans Binder had originally been set to race the car. The team would ultimately decide on Saturday whom to run, with Kuwashima getting the whole of Friday to prove his speed. The final piece of Japanese representation came in the form of the inconsistent team, which brought their underdeveloped, underfunded "kit-car" for Tony Trimmer. Their "new" chassis, christened the F102A, was not expected to impress, with Trimmer himself having failed to qualify the old car more than three times back in . As such there was little confidence in the small firm making it to the grid, with at least one of the 27 entrants set to miss out on a grid slot. Elsewhere, arrived determined to show their improved pace, both Mario Andretti and Gunnar Nilsson confident of a strong result despite the 77s recent fragility. were courting Regazzoni ahead of the winter, wishing to partner the Swiss racer with Carlos Pace. The Brazilian himself was not expecting a strong result given the nature of the Fuji Speedway, while teammate Larry Perkins was yet to fully settle in to the team he looked set to be ousted from. had their familiar trio of Ronnie Peterson, Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck in the paddock, all three using unchanged cars. arrived with their mix of old and new for Jean-Pierre Jarier and Tom Pryce, while were down to just a single entry for Harald Ertl. The rest of the field was likewise made up of single entries, with John Watson in the , Jacques Laffite with the , and Emerson Fittipaldi in the lone . In terms of the Championship it was down to just two drivers heading into the final race, both of whom would take the title with victory. Lauda held a three point advantage heading into the finale, and would win the title if he finished ahead of Hunt, or was a place behind the Brit if the McLaren racer failed to win. Hunt, in contrast, would either have to win the race, finish on the podium with Lauda absent, or finish fourth with the Austrian failing to score at all. If their points tallies ended up equal, then Hunt would be declared Champion with six wins to Lauda's five. In contrast, the International Cup for Manufacturers' hunt was over, Ferrari-CON having secured their second successive crown with a round to spare. Closest to them were McLaren-Ford Cosworth, eleven points behind, leaving them in a fight to finish runner up with Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth just five points further back heading to Japan. The season finale would also decide who would finish fourth, with Penske-Ford Cosworth, Ligier-Matra and Team Lotus-Ford Cosworth all level on points heaving upon arrival in Fuji. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: ** Both Binder and Kuwashima were entered for the #21 Wolf-Williams entry. *† Kuwashima was originally entered for RAM Racing in a Brabham BT44 but the entry was withdrawn. Qualifying Practice/qualifying would be staged across Friday and Saturday, split into the standardised format of three "timed" sessions with an additional "untimed" session. Friday would host two of the "timed" run-outs, while Saturday would see qualifying conclude in the morning ahead of the single "untimed" period. As it was the first time that Formula One, in any form, had tried out the Fuji Speedway, there was no real referenced for a target time. Report The undoubted star of the opening session of the weekend would be local racer Masahiro Hasemi in the equally local , the Japanese racer topping the timesheet for most of the morning. Hasemi's effort of 1:13.88 would only be beaten late in the session, James Hunt being the outright fastest, although the Brit would require an extra soft set of Goodyear tyres to do so. The Brit headed to the lunch break with a 1:13.76, while title rival Niki Lauda, also issued a set of soft Goodyears, ended the morning in second just a hundredth behind. Elsewhere, Carlos Pace was a happy third in the , having spent the morning swapping between his and teammate Larry Perkins' cars. Mario Andretti ended the morning fifth fastest behind Hasemi, and the last man to break into the 1:13.00s, with Jochen Mass just behind. Tony Trimmer, meanwhile, seemed to be on the bubble already in the , although he would at least complete a lap, unlike Harald Ertl whose crawled to a stop at the end of its first trip out of the pits. Into the afternoon session and Hasemi's strong running came to a rather expensive end, the Japanese racer getting out of shape on the long, flat-out right handed final corner, before being spat out into the barriers on the exit. The Kojima was left with a twisted monocoque, although Hasemi himself was completely unscathed, climbing out of the wreckage unaided, the session stopped to allow bits of Kojima to be dragged to their workshop a few yards away from the scene. Indeed, it seemed as if all the stars of the morning run were struggling, Hunt failing to improve after encountering some untreatable understeer, while Lauda could only scrape a couple of extra hundredths from his morning time. That opened the door for Andretti to hit the top of the timesheets, a rarely trouble free afternoon for allowing the American to record a 1:13.29 to claim provisional pole overnight. Pace was up to second come sessions end, the Alfa F12 enjoying the long start/finish straight, just ahead of the F12 engined of Clay Regazzoni. Elsewhere, Patrick Depailler emerged as the best of the drivers, while there was some fallout at as Masami Kuwashima's refused to pay for the Japanese racer's spot. There were also some mechanical dramas in the field, John Watson and Ronnie Peterson both stopping out on circuit with engine and gearbox failures respectively. Saturday morning would see the unseasonably warm autumnal weather carried over, meaning that the fight for pole was well and truly on. The entire hour was spent with Hunt and Lauda exchanging times at the top of the timesheet, before Hunt seemingly settled the issue with a 1:12.80 to Lauda's 1:13.08. It seemed then as if the Brit would start the season finale from pole, until Andretti shot across the line in the final moments of the session to record a 1:12.77 and his second pole position. Fourth behind Lauda would go to Watson, whose received a brand new engine and some of the Goodyear softs. Jody Scheckter moved into fifth ahead of Pace, while Regazzoni and Vittorio Brambilla were unable to repeat their Friday afternoon exploits. Hasemi, meanwhile, would see himself slip to tenth after sitting out of the final session, although his mechanics had the car rebuilt around a fresh monocoque just after the start of the "untimed" session. Elsewhere, Jean-Pierre Jarier seemed to have found some form in the old , only to suffer a high speed tyre failure at the end of the start/finish straight. The Shadow went skating off the circuit, with a radiator and the floor receiving severe damage from their mutual 150 mph contact with the tarmac runoff. He would take over the spare Shadow for the race having escaped uninjured, while Hans Binder was allowed to join the fray in the second Wolf-Williams, taking over from Kuwashima. The , meanwhile, would fail to qualify despite the fact that there were only 26 runners in qualifying, the officials deciding that Tony Trimmer had lapped too slowly to be deemed safe. Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. *T Indicates a test/spare car. ** Kuwashima was unable to start the race as his sponsors withdrew, meaning Binder took his seat. Grid ** Kuwashima was unable to start as his sponsors withdrew on race morning. Race Unlike the two practice days, raceday dawned dark, foggy and incredibly wet, with pools of water forming all around the Fuji Speedway. The half-hour warm-up session provided evidence that the conditions were poor at best, prompting several meetings between the drivers that would last well beyond the original start time. Another warm-up was staged, after which the majority of the drivers voted against starting, only to be told by the organisers and teams that they were to head to the grid anyway. Report It was still very dark, very damp, and incredibly foggy when the starter's lights flashed to green, with the entire field struggling to get off the line amid the spray. A few drivers seemed to hook up their starts well, James Hunt immediately slithering past pole sitter Mario Andretti, while John Watson slipped his up to second. However, their starts paled in comparison to that of Kazuyoshi Hoshino, who shot into the top ten in the old having started down in twenty-first. Come the end of the opening tour it was Hunt leading with a huge gap back to Watson in second, with Andretti just visible in the Penske's spray. Jody Scheckter was next in the queue with Vittorio Brambilla, Clay Regazzoni and Patrick Depailler, while the remarkable Hoshino had made even more ground to settle himself into eighth. Hans-Joachim Stuck was next ahead of a rather miserable Niki Lauda, who could see his crown draining away, while Larry Perkins crawled into the pits at the back of the field to retire, citing the weather and a lack of control. The second lap followed much the same pattern as the first, Hunt pulling further and further ahead, while Watson slipped back behind Andretti. Lauda, meanwhile, would continue to slide down the order, and, having been relegated out of the top ten, the Austrian decided it was not worth the risk of continuing. The defending World Champion duly brought his perfectly healthy car into the pits at the end of the second lap, declaring that the conditions were unsafe to continue. On track, meanwhile, the Austrian's arch-rival Hunt continued to pound around at unabated speed, while Andretti slithered on in second. Watson continued on in third for another lap before being elbowed back by Brambilla, while Ronnie Peterson dropped out with an electrical short, caused by water getting into the system. However, Brambilla's moment in the (vacant) sun would be short lived, the Italian pitting a couple of laps later to have a disintegrated front left tyre replaced. Further early retirements would include Carlos Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi, both citing the conditions, although the huge home crowd were all focused on the circuit. This was because local racer Hoshino was picking his way up the order, passing both Regazzoni and Scheckter to climb into the top three. He would remain there for a couple of laps before a barnstorming Brambilla reclaimed the position, the Italian having rejoined from the pits in eighth. Indeed, Brambilla now became the centre of attention for the crowd, with the Italian soon seen sweeping past Andretti a couple of laps later before charging off after Hunt. By lap twenty the #9 was within striking distance, with Brambilla duly sending his car slithering up the inside of the at the hairpin. Unfortunately the move was for too optimistic, with Brambilla missing the nose of Hunt's McLaren by millimetres, before spinning to a stop on the outside of the circuit. Jochen Mass, whom had quietly picked his way up the order as others hit trouble, and Depailler moved past the Italian before he rejoined, with Brambilla citing an engine issue as the cause of the spin. By this stage several drivers had had to stop for fresh tyres, as the circuit was beginning to dry in certain places as the rain stopped shortly after the start. McLaren team boss Teddy Mayer spotted this and began to signal to his drivers to stay off the "racing line", with the Goodyear wets known to overheat quickly on even damp tarmac. Mass, however, would ignore the advice of his team boss, sticking to the racing line as he reeled in teammate Hunt out front. Yet, just as the German seemed set to stab his British teammate in the back, Mass ran into one of the large puddles lying on the outside of the final corner, aquaplaning straight into the barriers. Mass climbed out of the now noseless McLaren, leaving Hunt with a comfortable lead over Tom Pryce, who was another silently picking his way up the order. Indeed, Pryce would continue to close onto the back of Hunt as half-distance came and went, before the expired in a cloud of oil smoke. Depailler was duly promoted back into second ahead of the chasing Andretti, while Brambilla's second comeback came to an end with electrical issues. He joined a steadily growing list of retirements, with both of the s on the sidelines which had suffered unrelated failures. With thirteen laps to go Hunt was seriously beginning to struggle with his heavily worn front left tyre, awaiting a call from his pit crew. They, however, were waiting for Hunt to come in on his own before leaping to action, meaning that the Brit was steadily losing both time and grip as the race wore on. That allowed Depailler to close right onto the back of the McLaren, while Andretti decided to cruise and conserve his wets. Fate, ultimately, dictated the end of the race, as first Depailler, then Hunt, suffered tyre failures in the final stages, relegating them down the order. Depailler dropped first, sprinting past Hunt to take the lead, only for his left rear tyre to disintegrate with ten laps to go. Quick work by the crew got the Frenchman back out on a fresh set of wets, the circuit too dangerous for slicks, with Depailler rejoining in fifth. Two laps later and Hunt's front left tyre fell apart in the final corner, moments after the Brit had fallen behind the cruising Andretti. Fortunately the McLaren pitcrew had been ready to receive their lead driver for some time, and were quick to get the rear wheels changed, before manually lifting the front of the car to allow the fronts to be changed. Hunt was soon back in the fray but had dropped to fifth behind Regazzoni, Alan Jones and Depailler, a disaster in terms of his title bid as the Brit needed to finish fourth at worst to overhaul Lauda. The final few laps were nothing short of spectacular, with both Depailler and Hunt scything towards the and as the laps ticked away. The Tyrrell caught them first and blasted through without issue, his fresh wets meaning it was impossible for either Regazzoni or Jones to defend. Hunt would catch them at the start of the penultimate lap, passing both en-route to third place to send the McLaren pitcrew into the atmosphere. All that was left was for Andretti to cruise through the final lap, the American duly crossing the line a lap clear of the field to claim victory for . Depailler was next across the line in second, while Hunt flashed through in third, believing he had failed to win the title. Jones overcame Regazzoni's late pressure to claim fourth, while Gunnar Nilsson complete the points in the second of the Loti. With that the 1976 season was over, Hunt arriving in the pits despondent, only to be told by team boss Mayer that he was the World Champion. As the McLaren celebrations got underway, Lauda was seen climbing into a plane at a nearby airport, en-route to Italy for a post-race briefing with Enzo Ferrari. The Italian team would have to be satisfied with just the International Cup for Manufacturers for their work, knowing that Lauda would likely have won the title without his fiery accident at the Nürburgring. Results The full results for the are outlined below: Milestones * James Hunt declared as World Champion for the first (and only) time. * First Japanese Grand Prix to be staged as a World Championship race. * Debut race for Noritake Takahara, Masahiro Hasemi and Kazuyoshi Hoshino. * First and only entry for Masami Kuwashima. * Final entry for as a constructor. * Final entry for as an entrant. * Bridgestone supplied tyres for a World Championship car for the first time. * Second career victory for Mario Andretti. ** It was also the American's first since the 1971 South African Grand Prix. * claimed their 58th victory as a constructor. ** Engine partner earned their 96th triumph. * Jacques Laffite recorded his first fastest lap. ** Hasemi was originally recorded as the fastest lap setter, but was corrected after the race. Standings The dramatic events of the final laps ensured that James Hunt won the 1976 FIA Formula One World Championship by a single point from Niki Lauda, the Austrian ultimately gracious in defeat. Jody Scheckter held onto third ahead of teammate Patrick Depailler, while Clay Regazzoni completed the top five. Mario Andretti, the seventh different winner of the season, moved up to sixth, with twenty drivers on the board come seasons end. had been declared as the International Cup for Manufacturers' Champions last time out in Watkins Glen, ending the season with 83 points. were declared as runners up with 74 points, having equalled the Italian firm's number of wins, while completed the top three. leapt up to fourth on the final day, overtaking and . References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Japanese Grand Prix Category:1976 Grands Prix Category:Formula One races in Japan